Not demanding EIS is like risking AIDS

As one of the Kauai protesters of the Superferry and the director of boycottsuperferry.org, I wish to give a relevant analogy as how Oahu friends could relate to the motives of the Kauaian family:

What the Superferry has attempted to do without an environmental assessment and environmental impact statement is like an anxious boyfriend wishing to have unprotected sex without a preliminary AIDS test to his new girlfriend (Kauai). The parents, brothers and sisters of Kauai are wary of this "boyfriend" until he gets tested and treats their daughter/sister with respect.

As it was, this new boyfriend, said "I don't care, I got exempted by an uncle that the courts said was wrong. I proclaim myself to not carry a disease, and I'll have all the minimally or unprotected sex I want while telling my new gal, 'I really love ya.'"

Just because other suitors (Matson, Young Bros.) didn't have AIDS tests, as the test wasn't around then, two or three wrongs don't make a right. And to Department of Transportation Director Barry Fukunaga and Gov. Linda Lingle, we didn't enjoy you offering to pimp our sister as simply "good for business."

John Tyler CraggAnahola, Kauai

Try mediation rather than acrimony

At the Mediation Center of the Pacific, we believe each time a dispute in Hawaii is settled peacefully, all of us in Hawaii benefit. Mediation provides an opportunity for people to come together to resolve their differences. A conference table, a mediator and those in dispute work out mutually agreeable solutions. Isn't this preferable to blockades and protests?

The Mediation Center of Hawaii serves Oahu. Kauai and Maui both have their own mediation centers: the Mediation Services of Maui and the Kauai Mediation Center (listed under Kauai Economic Opportunities).

Mediation makes neighborhoods more peaceful, workplaces more productive, schools more focused on learning and families much stronger. Our community becomes healthier when we all talk it out rather than fight it out.

So why not target all boats and planes?

Perhaps its time to quarantine the islands of Kauai and Maui. Nothing in or out. After all, the container ships might contain invasive species or hit whales (they don't have forward-looking sonar and are not very maneuverable). The cruise ships might hit the whales because they aren't maneuverable and they might bring water-borne invasive species with their antiquated propulsion and steering systems. The planes are real carbon disasters, might contain invasive species and bring people who will tax the ecosystem and roads with their touring in rental cars.

The folks on the outer islands want isolation? We should grant their wish until they turn in and lock up the eco-terrorists who were obstructing the Superferry, flattening tires and writing down license plates. By giving in to the terrorists, as happened this week, we only encourage their anti-social behavior and encourage the other nuts out there to do the same.

Siegfried RungeKapolei

Free ashtrays are better than cig litter

Does Kathy Harty of the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaii (Star-Bulletin, Aug. 28) not realize that supplying tourists with portable ashtrays is preferable to having tourists litter Hawaii with spent cigarettes? The bags even come with the slogan "Keep Hawaii Clean," which is a sentiment that I think everyone, smokers and nonsmokers alike, should adopt.

I also don't agree with her proposal to give leis solely to nonsmokers. Since when have we become so discriminatory toward those whom we should show hospitality? I was under the impression that smokers are human beings, too.

Stacy HaradaHonolulu

Civil servants give inefficient service

When I went to the Social Security office the other day, I had to wait for two hours to get the number, which took just one minute.

There are 10 windows in the office. But when lunchtime began, there were only two open windows. Just two! Two civil workers in Service Personnel were talking with each other about something. I didn't know exactly what they were talking about, but to me it sounded not so important. I had to wait 40 minutes for them to finish helping two people in front of me.

Through my experience, civil workers are lazy and irresponsible. If they took turns having lunch, people wouldn't have to wait so long. Also, they must be re-educated not to chat with each other while they are on the job.

Seung Won HanHawaii Kai

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